TFB Review: Timney Glock Alpha Trigger

The pursuit of speed is unrelenting. It has captured the hearts and minds of mankind worldwide. I imagine the day after the firearm was invented, someone tried to shoot it a tad bit faster. Throughout the years, there have been many upgrades and iterations to the primitive tool that we call the firearm. What may have started as the Hand Cannon in China in the 13th century has long evolved into a tool that's so distant from its roots, that it's almost unrecognizable.

In the modern world, people choose shooting competitions as their preferred outlet for the desire to shoot faster and more accurately. Many innovations and advancements in modern firearms come from the competition world. I believe pistols equipped with red dots, compensators, and trigger upgrades were all introduced in competition prior to widespread adoption. One of the oldest and largest trigger manufacturers in the world, Timney, has a trigger kit advertised to give your Glock an edge in the competition world. It’s called the Alpha Competition Series trigger for Glock.

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I’ve had this trigger kit installed for around a year, and I am ready to give you, the reader, my honest opinion and review of this trigger kit. We’ll also look at how the trigger works mechanically, and my opinion of if it is drop-safe.

Function

Timney advertises this trigger as a 3-pound pull-weight trigger. I have found this to be spot on. To me, it feels like a two-stage trigger, where you pull against any take-up, and then hit a firm and defined wall. I have a cheaper trigger scale, and it measures very consistently. The trigger takes a two-pound pull weight to get to a very firm and distinct wall. One additional pound causes the trigger to break, at around 3 pounds total pull strength. The first stage with a two-pound pull overcomes the trigger reset spring, and firing pin safety plunger spring. The additional pound causes the sear to drop, releasing the striker and resulting in a three-pound total pull weight. The wall is crisp, and there is no creep.

Speed

I don’t have any quantifiable data, but I am sure I shoot faster with this trigger than the stock Glock trigger. The take up to the wall is less, the wall is more firm and defined, and the overtravel is less. Basically, this means that when you draw from the holster, your finger works less to get to the wall which causes less sight disruption, and then the wall has a crisp break which means your projectile is going down range exactly when you want it to. The reduced overtravel means you are back on the wall quicker for a follow-up shot. Sure the two triggers might be comparable if you want to mag dump into trash, but if you’re choosing to let off precise shots at the exact moment your dot floats over the A zone, the Timney is going to be better than stock. I have had this pistol for over 5 years, and recognize that my accurate firing cadence with the Timney is higher.

Accuracy

Before installing this trigger, I took a training class with the pistol. I shot about 1,000 rounds with the stock trigger. We shot a lot of paper targets. I could shoot a respectable group size, but could never quite hit that bullseye every time I wanted to. I was really surprised that I could hit the bullseye on the fly after installing this trigger. I took the Glock out today after not shooting it for around a year. I hit a bullseye on the first shot. At 7 yards I could repeatedly hit the bullseye any time, whereas with the stock Glock trigger, I might just dance around it. The stock Glock trigger is heavier and less defined, where you are trying to keep everything lined up as you squeeze through the break. The Timney has a really defined wall, so you can shoot your shot at the exact moment your dot covers the intended area.

Reliability

I think I performed probably the most realistic reliability test for myself as a gun owner. I shot a ton of rounds through the stock Glock 19 with no malfunctions, then sent it out for slide milling. When I got the red dot-equipped slide back, I took a 1,000-round training class with the stock trigger installed. The Glock in its stock form had no malfunctions ever. I think this is important to note because I had a really good test-bed reliable pistol.

I then installed the Timney Alpha trigger and shot about 450 rounds through it at the range and in two separate competitions. I had no trouble, and I put it back in the safe. I didn’t clean it, lube it, or shoot it for an entire year. I would periodically take it out to dry fire, but I did not heat it with live ammo, or apply any kind of lube. I took it out today to compare it to another firearm and shot about 60 rounds without issue. The Glock actually performed a little bit better than the other firearm. I was shooting a local brand of remanufactured ammo that the range sold. The Glock with Timney Alpha trigger was shooting all rounds off, while the other firearm with second-strike capability kept having light primer strikes.

This might have been a luck-of-the-draw situation for the Glock because the ammo may have been suspect, but either way, the Timney trigger has not given me any issues yet. To me, passing the 500-round mark with the last shooting session being one with the gun filled with year-old dry carbon is a win. Timney also offers a lifetime guarantee on their triggers, so you are covered even if you hit an issue on the 15,000th round.

Mechanical design

This trigger brings the Glock trigger system into the modern era. In a usual Glock trigger, the striker is cocked to the rear when you pull the trigger. Your trigger finger is pulling the striker back when you pull the trigger. The Timney Alpha trigger kit holds the striker in the fully cocked position until you pull the trigger. This is like the type of trigger mechanism that the HK VP9, SIG P365, Smith & Wesson M&P, and other firearms use. It’s almost like converting a firearm from double action only to single action only in a sense. The Timney Alpha trigger kit also retains the use of the safety plunger and the trigger blade. Also important to note, the Alpha trigger kit allows you to retain the stock Glock striker and striker spring. The trigger shoe that the kit comes with is also made of metal instead of polymer which is nice. It looks like Timney is also now offering a hinged trigger shoe and a blade-type trigger shoe, for those that prefer one over the other.

Is it drop-safe?

In my opinion, it is. In fact, I accidentally dropped it on the carpet today, and the sear didn’t drop. The Timney Alpha trigger retains the safety plunger and safety blade functionality of the original Glock trigger mechanism. Basically, for a round to go off when dropped, the striker would have to slip off of the sear, and the firing pin plunger would have to be up and out of the way. The only way to move the firing pin plunger out of the way would be to pull the trigger, which would raise the plunger.

Through testing, I have confirmed that the safety plunger on my firearm is continually blocking the firing pin while the trigger is in the forward position. I have tested this by looking through the magwell to verify, and have also tested it by removing the backplate from the slide and manually making the firing pin move forward from the sear. The safety plunger prevents the striker from peeking out of the breech face. In my opinion, I can’t think of a scenario where a round would cook off when the firearm is dropped if the trigger safety blade, and trigger safety plunger are functionally intact.

I think it’s important to note that installing a new trigger kit won’t instantly turn your Glock into a full-fledged race gun. If you just bought a new Glock and are thinking about shooting a competition, you don’t necessarily need a trigger upgrade, but it is nice to have. The new trigger won’t magically make you a world-class shooter. I don’t usually compete with my Glock, but if I did, I would compete with a long-slide model like the Glock 34. Timney markets this trigger as it is intended for competition only. At this point, you’re probably wondering why the hell it's installed in a Glock 19. It’s because I don’t own any other Glocks, and wanted to try the trigger system out.

Thoughts and Opinions

I like it. I take the gun out of the safe just to dry fire it sometimes. I have some firearms that I keep just for carry, and some just for home defense that I don’t alter. My Glock 19 kind of floats in no man's land right now. It’s a little too big to carry compared to some of the modern micro-compacts. I also have a few other firearms that make more sense for home defense.

I still love the Glock 19, and like to shoot it when I have the chance. Where I'm located, there aren’t a ton of outdoor spaces where you can shoot your own steel targets. Competitions make the most sense for the opportunity to shoot steel and shoot on the move for me. When I'm shooting this Glock in competition, it feels like shaking hands with an old friend. The trigger kit allows me to be just a little bit more competitive, and enjoy shooting it just a touch more even when I don’t win.

I think as gun guys, we sometimes like to check out the latest and greatest stuff. Sometimes the stuff is just a gimmick or a poor product. I think years and years of cheesy products have shaped the advice that people give to upgrade Glocks, which is to not upgrade in most cases. Personally, I think this is a good product. Fun fact, this is also the trigger installed in the Taran Tactical John Wick Glocks, although I think Taran Tactical might do additional work to the trigger. It was kind of cool to customize this Glock in a John Wick adjacent fashion.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to upgrade your Glock trigger to a competition trigger, I’d recommend trying out the Timney Alpha. I wouldn’t recommend installing it in your carry piece, because it is a pretty light trigger. I also wouldn’t recommend it to die-hard Glock purists because once you install it, you’re not going to want to go back to a stock Glock trigger. It currently is my preferred Glock competition trigger, and I have no plans on trying any new ones out at the moment.

The Timney Alpha Competition Series Glock trigger can be found on Timney’s website here: Alpha Competition Series for Glock Gen 5 - Timney Triggers